JP3109712B2 - Power supply connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply connector for use in charging an electric vehicle, for example, which has a low insertion force and can be easily attached to and detached from the power receiving connector with a small force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of power supply side connector, there is one shown in FIG.
No. 44). The power supply side connector a has a plurality of terminals b
The lever principle and the spring e are used as a means for moving the connector main body c containing the housing with respect to the case d.
That is, when gripping the lever f, a mechanism to press the connector body c via the handle g pins P ₁ supporting point, as a pin P ₂ operating point can the power receiving connector and the fitting with a low insertion force. Insertion force reducing rate at this time, L ₁ the length between the fulcrum P ₁ and the point P _2, a length between the force point P ₃ of the fulcrum P ₁ and lever f L
When _{2 is (L 1 / L 2) ×} 100 (%).

[0003]

In the power supply side connector a described above, the lever f is grasped with one hand or both hands, so that a large lever stroke cannot be obtained. In other words, it can not be actually so large a L _2, not be taken larger stroke of the connector body c. Therefore, the size of the connector body and the reduction in insertion force are limited, and there is a problem that it is difficult to put the connector body into practical use as a large connector for supplying a large current.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply side connector.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a power supply connector according to the present invention is detachably fitted to a power receiving side connector provided on a vehicle body or the like. A power supply side connector, comprising: an outer case;
A connector body accommodating a plurality of terminals slidably mounted in the outer case and connected to wires, and a handle, and one side of the handle at the front end of the handle is rotatably supported by the outer case. The other side is loosely fitted to the rear end of the connector body.

[0006] It is preferable that the handle is formed in a cylindrical shape, and wires connected to the plurality of terminals are inserted into the handle and led out to the outside (claim 2). In the invention according to claim 3, a lock chamber is formed in a part of the peripheral wall of the outer case, the lock chamber is provided with a lock arm that engages with the power receiving side connector, and the handle is locked with respect to the lock arm. A release rod is provided. The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the handle has a second lock arm on an outer peripheral wall, and the outer case engages with the second lock arm when completely engaged with the power receiving side connector. It is characterized by having.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the connector body is directly connected to the handle serving as a lever, that is, directly to the point of action of the handle, and the handle can be formed to a desired length, a small force is applied. A large propulsion is obtained. As a result, a large connector that requires a large insertion force by ordinary manual work can be handled with a small force, and development and commercialization of a large connector are facilitated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the handle is cylindrical and the wires connected to the plurality of terminals are led out through the handle, the wires are tangled or broken when the handle is rotated. There is no fear. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the outer case is provided with the lock arm that engages with the power receiving side connector, there is no fear that the power feeding side connector is unexpectedly disconnected before the charging operation is started, and the lock release rod is not provided. If you do not operate with, you can not remove it, you can safely operate. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the handle has the second locking arm on the outer peripheral wall and the outer case has the locking groove to be engaged with the second locking arm, it is possible to prevent the power supply side connector from being detached during charging. It can be reliably prevented.

[0009]

1 is a front view of a power supply connector, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a left side view, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a power reception connector, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a power reception connector. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a main part. As shown in FIG. 5, the charging connector is a power supply side connector A provided in a power supply device (not shown).
And a power receiving side connector B fixed to a vehicle body or the like.

In the power supply side connector A, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer case made of synthetic resin, in which a connector main body 2 is slidably mounted. One side of a handle 3 composed of a pair of split cylinders 3A and 3B is rotatably connected to the rear part of the outer case 1, and the other side of the handle 3 is loosely fitted to the rear end of the connector main body 2. A cable C extending from a power supply device (not shown) is inserted therein, so that a wire w of the cable C can be connected to a terminal (not shown) in the connector main body 2.

An outer case 1 shown in the embodiment has a rectangular cylindrical shape with front and rear openings, and a lock chamber 4 is formed so as to swell on an upper peripheral wall 1a, and is locked on a rear end of a lower peripheral wall 1b. A groove 1c is formed. The lock chamber 4 has side walls 4 on both sides.
a and a ceiling wall 4b.
a wide locking arm 5 having an engaging piece 5b protruding on both sides of a rear end portion is rotatably supported by a pin 6, and both ends of the pin 6 are attached to both side walls 4a, 4a. Fixed. Also, on the ceiling wall 4b, engaging pieces 5b, 5 of the internal lock arm 5 are provided.
b, two slits 7 are opened, and a spring locking portion 4c is provided on the back surface of the ceiling wall 4b.
A bearing member 8 having a shaft hole 8a protrudes from the rear ends of the side walls 4a. The pin 6 is provided with a coil spring (not shown) for urging the hook 5a of the lock arm 5 downward, that is, toward the connector body 2.

The connector main body 2 has three large, medium, and small terminal accommodating chambers 10, 11, and 12 in a housing 9. The terminal accommodating chambers 10, 11, and 12 each have a large power line terminal for charging and a ground wire. The connecting rods 13 are provided on both sides of the rear end of the housing 9 so as to house and lock medium-sized terminals for small-sized terminals and signal terminals for signal lines. Is protruding. The large, medium and small terminals accommodated and locked in the terminal accommodating chambers 10, 11 and 12 can be the same male terminals or female terminals as those shown in FIG. .

Each of the split cylinders 3A and 3B constituting the handle 3 has a large diameter portion 3 having a size corresponding to the outer case 1.
a, a grip portion 3b having a tapered shape subsequent thereto, and a corrugated pipe connecting portion 3c at the end are coupled to each other, and a plurality of grooves 3d are provided on an inner periphery of the corrugated pipe connecting portion 3c to provide a plurality of grooves 3d. A corrugated pipe (not shown) for accommodating the extending cable C can be fitted and fixed.

The large diameter portions 3a of the split cylinders 3A and 3B have
As shown in FIG. 2, a lock release rod 15 which can enter the slit 7 is protruded above the front end, and a pin shaft 16 protrudes below the lock release rod 15 from the inner surface of the side wall. In addition, a trigger 1 is provided in front of the lower end of the large diameter portion 3a.
7, a second lock arm 18 is pivotally supported by a pin 19, and the second lock arm 18 has a hook portion 18a at its distal end for engaging with the locking groove 1c. Further, the large diameter portion 3a
A second bearing member 20 having an elongated hole 21 opened from the inner surface of the side wall to the connector body 2 side. The second bearing member 20 is provided such that the upper end of the elongated hole 21 is inclined toward the connector body 2. Reference numeral 22 denotes a screw insertion hole for fixing the split cylinders 3A and 3B.

To assemble the power supply side connector A, the connector body 2 is slidably fitted into the rear end opening 1d of the outer case 1 and the split cylinders 3A and 3B constituting the handle 3 are joined together from both sides of the rear portion. Mounting, screw insertion hole 2
2 and fixing with a screw-nut (not shown). That is, the pin shafts 16 on both sides of the split cylinders 3A and 3B are inserted into the shaft holes 8a of the bearing members 8 of the lock chamber 4 respectively, and the connection pins 14 at the rear end of the connector body 2 are connected to the second bearing members 20. It is tied and fixed in a state of being loosely fitted in the elongated hole 21. At this time, a coil spring 23 is wound around the pin shaft 16, one end of the coil spring 23 is fixed to the spring engaging portion 4c on the back surface of the ceiling wall, and the other end is brought into contact with the ceiling wall portion of the large-diameter portion 3a. Are urged toward the outer case 1 so that they are always closed.

Next, the operation of fitting, charging and disconnecting the power supply side connector A and the power receiving side connector B will be described.
First, when the power-supply-side connector A is inserted into the power-receiving-side connector B, the hood 24 of the connector B enters the outer case 1 and the two connectors A and B are apparently fitted (temporarily fitted). At the same time, the hook 5a of the lock arm 5 engages with the engaging recess 24a of the hood 24 and is locked.

In the above-mentioned locked state of the connectors A and B, as shown in FIG. 7, when the handle 3 is turned about the pin shaft 16 as a fulcrum as shown by the arrow Q, the connecting pin 14 engaging with the elongated hole 21 is formed. As a result, the connector body 2 is pushed forward as indicated by the arrow R. As a result, the connector main body 2 is completely fitted with the power receiving side connector B, and the terminals in the terminal accommodating chambers 10 to 12 are connected to the terminals of the other party. At the same time as this complete fitting, the hook portion 18 of the second lock arm 18 of the handle 3 is
a engages with the locking groove 1c of the outer case 1, and the outer case 1 and the handle 3 are locked. When the connector body 2 is completely fitted and locked by the lock arm 18, power is supplied between the two connectors A and B to perform charging.

After the end of charging, the trigger 17 is pulled in FIG. 7 and turned in the direction of the arrow S to unlock the outer case 1 and the handle 3. Then, when the handle 3 is turned in the direction opposite to the arrow Q, the connector body 2 is operated in the opposite manner to the above.
Retreats. When the handle 3 is further pushed up in the direction opposite to the arrow Q from the position shown in FIG. 4, the lock release rod 15 enters the inside of the slit 7 of the lock chamber 4 and pushes down the engagement piece 5b of the lock arm 5. . As a result, the distal end of the lock arm 5 rotates upward about the pin 6, the engagement between the engagement recess 24 a of the power receiving connector B and the hook 5 a is released, and the power feeding connector A is separated. Can be. Most of the engagement piece 5b of the lock arm 5 is covered with the ceiling wall 4b of the lock chamber 4, and is only exposed to the outside from the slit 7 which is a slightly narrow gap. Therefore, if the lock release rod 15 is removed, it is hard to contact from the outside,
There is no possibility that the lock arm 5 is suddenly released.

The connector body 2 is directly connected to the operating point (elongated hole 21) of the handle 3, which is a lever, by a connecting pin 14, and the length of the handle 3 can be arbitrarily set. Also, by making the handle 3 long, the handle 3 can be attached to and detached from the power receiving side connector B with a small force, and the stroke of the connector main body 2 can be lengthened.

[0020]

As described above, the power supply side connector of the present invention comprises an outer case, a connector body accommodating a plurality of terminals slidably mounted in the outer case and connected to wires, and And a handle at the front end of the handle, one side of which is rotatably supported by the outer case and the other side is loosely fitted to the rear end of the connector body. It has a structure that is directly connected to the point of application of the lever (handle), and the handle can be made sufficiently long to provide a large propulsion force. Suitable for connectors.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a power supply side connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the power supply side connector along the line XX in FIG. 3;

5 is a perspective view of the power supply side connector of FIG. 1 and a mating power receiving side connector in a separated state.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which an outer case and a handle of the power supply side connector of FIG. 1 are separated.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation state of the power supply side connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional power supply side connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

A power supply side connector B power reception side connector 1 outer case 1c locking groove 2 connector body 3 handle 4 lock chamber 5 lock arm 8 bearing member 14 connecting pin 15 lock release rod 16 pin shaft 18 lock arm 18a hook 21 oblong hole

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A power supply side connector detachably fitted to a power receiving side connector provided on a vehicle body or the like, comprising: an outer case; and a plurality of slidably mounted inside the outer case and connected to wires. A connector body accommodating the above terminal, and a handle, one side of which is rotatably supported by the outer case at a front end of the handle, and the other side is loosely fitted to a rear end of the connector body. A power supply connector. 2. The power supply side according to claim 1, wherein the handle is formed in a cylindrical shape, and wires connected to the plurality of terminals pass through the handle and are led out. connector. 3. A lock chamber is formed in a part of a peripheral wall of the outer case, a lock arm is provided in the lock chamber for engaging with the power receiving side connector, and a lock release rod for the lock arm is provided on the handle. The power supply side connector according to claim 1, wherein the power supply side connector is provided. 4. The handle includes a second lock arm on an outer peripheral wall, and the outer case includes a locking groove that engages with the second lock arm when completely fitted with the power receiving side connector. The power-supply-side connector according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein: